The Brilliant Dance
by Terragaiajorda
Summary: Chapter two! Finally... yeah.. The great reappearance of everyone's favorite dream elf and a little family reunion.. (Better summaries when author stops being lazy.)
1. Default Chapter

She raced down the dark hallway as loud gasps for breath escaped her lips. Aside from that, her bare feet crashing against the cold floor made the only sound. She didn't know why she ran, whether she was chasing someone or being chased. But she ran, and did it like there was no tomorrow. Like Hell itself was right on her heels. In all honestly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the truth. Besides, no matter how fast or how long she had been going, the darkness just seemed endless. Then, suddenly, a light, faint and small, appeared some distance away.

So she continued on and soon reached the light. Everything became a bright white, blurring her vision and causing her to close her eye. The light dimmed away soon enough and she reopened her eye. She found herself in her room... their room. She took note to the empty bed then found herself gazing into a tall mirror some feet away. Taking some steps forward, she tried to get a better view. She looked slightly different from that time, probably because she was older... But that young girl could still be seen in her. A hand rested on her shoulder and she quickly turned around.

Her blue-green eye was met with a pair of marine blue ones. They weren't alarmed or worried, just calm and gentle... and peaceful. The new arrival gave her a hug and a short kiss. She just smiled and turned back to the mirror. She wanted to see how beautiful they looked together, even though she knew the answer very well. Unfortunately, what she excepted to see was not reflected in the mirror. Eye widened as she let out a terrified gasp. What she saw was a complete opposite of what it was supposed to be. Behind her was a different girl, the same eyes, yet a lighter color of hair. There was a mocking smirk on the face if this new girl. A hand came around Karen's waist and pulled her closer to the nightmarish image. The person was smiling now, bringing her lips up to Karen's ear.

Four simple words were whispered. "You can't escape me..."

Karen jolted into a sitting position, trying to catch her breath and collect her thoughts. Her short light brown hair covered a frightened eye. Though it rarely didn't bother her, she let it be. She had been thrown into deep shock from what she had dreamt. It had been so long, about five or six years, since she last saw that face. And heard that voice... not to mention how scared she felt. That fear was like no other, she couldn't describe it or think of a time where she was more scared. That time was over though, it had to be. Michelle was gone and wasn't ever coming back. Still, real or not, that dream had shaken Karen beyond reason. Karen buried her face in her hands and tried to drive the bad images away.

'_For all of those who are new to what's going on and have no clue to what is, let me explain a few things. I was born into this world as Katherine Tenou, the little sister of Amara Tenou... or as some might know, Sailor Uranus. The only problem was, I wasn't her sister... turns out I was really her daughter, which made things so much more complicated. I found out this shocking detail, along with a few others about six years ago. That was when I was the new Sailor Uranus and the Sailor Scouts were still in the world saving business. That time, however, it wasn't the world we were trying to save... It was me._

_You see... my mother had a girlfriend back then, one that I surprisingly found out about...'_

'Kat, come down here! I've got a surprise for you!' Amara had yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

Karen raced out of her room and straight for the stairs. She had awaited this surprise for over a week and she could barely manage to wait anymore. She was disappointed when she made it downstairs, only to find Amara and a girl beside her with sea green hair. Karen was quick to notice the girl's arm around Amara's waist and wasn't too happy about the sight. She stood silent and looked at Amara for an explanation.

'Kat, this is Michelle... She and her sister will be living with us.'

That answer had hit Karen hard, like running in a steel door or brick wall. She didn't want to live with some stranger... or two for that matter. It was just supposed to be her and Amara... and Apollo of course. Now, there was this girlfriend and a possibly bratty, girly sister to bug Karen. The cat could do that well enough... more now ever since Karen had learned that he could talk. Karen shook her head and glanced at Michelle.

'Hello Karen.' That was all this new girl had to say. Karen knew at that moment she'd have some problems with her.

_ 'Now, I had nothing against them but... that girl was evil. Of course that I never really believed it to be true, it was just one of those childish jokes. Up until the moment I found out she was actually evil. What was her reason? Well... she wanted to be with Amara forever, or at least for as long as they lived. Supposedly, something happened and they... found other people. Michelle, the evil girlfriend, wasn't too happy about that and she screwed up the timeline. Now, seven of us former future Scouts don't know our fathers and are some years younger than our mothers._

_ To make this a simple explanation; I was the only thing in between Michelle and staying with Amara till death. So, she made up some plan to get rid of me. She revived some old enemies and made it seem like the real mastermind behind this was some god of death. Why she had to make it so complicated is way beyond my thinking. All I know is that she and her flunkies were caught in a cave in of their headquarters. We won, she lost, and she's been dead for those five or six years. Ever since then, we've been living like normal people and have been doing a good job of it. As for Amara... she handled the issue rather well...'_

Beside her lay a peaceful figure, her breaths easy and a smile was on her face. Rebecca had flinched slightly when Karen had awaken abruptly, yet made no other actions than that. She suddenly made a strange squeaking noise, instantly grabbing Karen's attention. The tomboy grinned, her best friend was still beautiful, if not more so. Rebecca's only major change was that her hair was cut down to below her ears like Karen's. No one was exactly sure why she had made such a random change. Maybe she didn't want to gaze in the mirror everyday and see a mini-Michelle. Karen could understand her reasoning completely if that was the case. Rebecca turned in her sleep, some of her hair falling in her face. Karen leaned over her partner the pulled the hair away.

_'This... this is Rebecca, the sole being keeping me from completely hating Michelle. She's Michelle's daughter and the only good thing to come from that psychotic bitch. They may have looked a little alike, but their personalities were totally opposite. If Rebecca hadn't moved in when Michelle had, there would have been no possible way of me surviving...'_

Karen mumbled some hateful words to herself as she helped move some small boxes into Michelle's room. She carelessly dropped the boxes into a corner and glared at no certain thing in the room. Suddenly, she heard a crashing sound coming from the hallway and ran out to see what had happened. Her eye fell upon blue-green hair and a not-so-girly outfit. She just stared in awe as the shorter child tried to pick up a rather large box. Karen snapped out of her trance and hurried over.

'I'll help you...' Karen offered, gaining a smile from the other girl.

_'I'm not exactly sure if it was love at first sight, I knew I'd get along with this girl though. As for our relationship, it kind of came out of nowhere so randomly. I guess at that time we never really thought of strengthening the bond we had. Besides, we were just kids back then, we didn't know anything about love. Sometime before the whole Michelle mess, our affection for each other had become a bit physical. You know, stuff like hugging and kissing. Unfortunately, Michelle had found out and it gave her more reason to want to kill me. She actually tried to threaten me out of liking Rebecca once. I guess she didn't think it was fair... for us to have such an everlasting love and for her and Amara to have gone separate ways. I think she's to blame for that, she let it happen...'_

Rebecca began to toss and turn again. Karen moved back and hoped the younger girl wouldn't wake. If she did, a very long and probably pointless conversation would start. First, Rebecca would get worried and Karen would assure that she was okay. Then Rebecca would put in the fact that no one is okay when they wake up in the middle of the night. Simply put, there was no need for that to take place. Rebecca was probably very tired and had a big day planned tomorrow... or today. Whichever that happened to be. Anyway, the point was Karen didn't want Rebecca to worry. And if she knew Karen had a bad dream, she would want to know what it was about. Bringing up Michelle would only make matters much worse.

"Karen...." Rebecca whispered in a sleepy voice, causing the tomboy's heart to skip a beat. "... don't forget to feed Apollo.." She rolled onto her other side, facing away from Karen, and continued to sleep.

Karen let out a sigh of relief, almost laughing at what she had heard. Rebecca rarely talked in her sleep, but when she did, it was hilarious. Karen relaxed and tried to drive the dream away. She was failing miserably, which only made her more mad at Michelle. It left Karen with an emotional scar, one that would never ever go away. Even now, when Michelle was long since gone. A picture is worth a thousand words and she had a few images of Michelle still fresh in her head. A thousand times a few was still a lot and too many for Karen. The eye patch was enough of a memory for her to remember Michelle.

A soft hand rested on Karen's left arm, grabbing the girl's attention. Rebecca was now up and she was glancing at Karen with a smile. Karen mentally cursed herself, yet kept her stoic expression on the outside.

"Sorry if I woke you up."

"It's okay... you feeling alright?"

Karen tried to think of some excuse or argument to the question. "What makes you think that?!"

"It's four after midnight and you aren't nocturnal...?"

"Yeah.. I guess those could be reasons..."

"Bad dream?" Rebecca was giving her that sweet and innocent quizzical look.

"I don't really want to talk about it, Rebecca..."

That reply went without anymore saying. Rebecca had noticed the seriousness in Karen's voice and heard how she didn't use a nickname. Whatever was bothering Karen was really bad and Rebecca didn't want to pry. Silence echoed in the room, becoming an irritation to both. They refused to speak however, afraid to say the wrong thing. Rebecca stared into Karen's tired eye and pulled her hand away. That was the bad tone... the one that the others didn't want to be around to hear. Just like when Susan had mentioned Karen and Peruru 'getting back together' a while ago. That situation could have ended better... maybe not. It seemed everytime someone spoke of Peruru's name, Karen would have some emotional outburst.

_'Peruru... it's been sometime since I've seen him or heard from him. I know he was a dream elf, but he could have sent message about being to busy to ever come. Or he could have stopped by in one of my dreams or something... He never seemed to have a problem with it when we first met. Then again, last time I almost lost Rebecca because of him. Damn Fairy Boy, trying to confuse my feelings... Anyway, he had helped us when we fought Michelle. And if it wasn't for him, Rebecca and myself probably wouldn't be alive. I guess I still owe him for that one... That's if I ever see him again.'_

"We should get some sleep... we've got a lot to do tomorrow...." Karen suggested as she lay back down. "Night."

Rebecca just nodded slowly and went back to sleep also.

The sun beamed into the room, sunlight pouring onto Karen's face. She grabbed a pillow and put it over her head, mumbling something about wanting a few more minutes of sleep. She lay like that for a while, then got up and took the pillow off her head. She was all alone in the room, no sound or sight of Rebecca. Usually, Karen would wake up and hear the shower running or Rebecca yelling at her to get up. Karen shook her head, she probably just overslept. She yawned and climbed out of the bed and headed to the door leading into the hallway. She closed the door behind her when she exited the room and stopped to glance up and down the hallway.

Karen didn't really like the idea of moving into this place .. or actually, Amara moving out. But her mother had talked her into it and Karen and Rebecca decided to stay. Susan and Hotaru had moved it also, taking Rebecca and Karen's old rooms. And Rini was a new addition to their group, living in the guest room downstairs. As for Michelle's old room... no one really wanted to step foot in it. They just hung up a sign and kept the door closed. That, of course, left Amara's room to Karen and Rebecca. The former wind goddess had agreed to stay with Trista, which was probably the best idea.

Karen slowly walked downstairs, not waiting to fall since she was still partly asleep. She poked her head into the living, only to find Rini and Hotaru watching some TV. She continued on into the kitchen and found Susan and Rebecca quietly eating breakfast. She approached the table and took a seat, not catching anyone's attention at first. She cleared her throat and relaxed in her chair, causing Rebecca to look up.

"Morning sleepy head, we were starting to think you wouldn't ever get up."

"Did you try to wake me up?"

"We did everything you could think of... well... maybe not everything." Susan finally spoke up.

"Is it all just a coincidence?" Karen whispered to herself.

"You say something?"

"No." Karen stood up and made it to the door before Rebecca called her.

"Karen, this doesn't have to do with that dream, does it?"

This had stopped Karen dead in her tracks. She mentally shuddered at the thought of the dream, wishing she hadn't agree to telling it. The image of her and Michelle in the mirror had flashed in her mind. It was bad enough Michelle was there... but her touching Karen was really crossing the line. Karen exhaled sharply and left the kitchen. She entered the living room, but kept herself unnoticed by the other two. They had stopped viewing the television and were talking to each other. The conversation was a series of whispers, so Karen couldn't tell what it was about. She advanced a few inches, finally noticing one of Hotaru's hands on Rini's. Sneaking up behind the couch and hiding, she readied herself to jump up.

"Whatcha doing?" She popped her head over the back of the couch causing Hotaru to pull her hand away and Rini to almost fall off the couch. "Hm... does Serena know about this?"

"... I don't know what you're talking about!" Rini muttered and rushed out of the room.

Karen laughed and smiled, it was obvious.

_ 'These two have been trying to keep this a secret for some time. Besides, what better of a reason for Rini to move in? It's not like she hung out with Susan and Hotaru everyday. I bet Serena has no clue about it, nor is she anywhere close to figuring it out. As for Susan, Rebecca, and myself... we didn't try to pry it out of them. They'd have to give up the act sooner or later... It makes me think I have this affect on our friends now. Like some kind of contagious homosexual disease... that'd be interesting._'

"You wouldn't tell Serena... if that was the case?" Hotaru spoke up, trying to make it seem like a hypothetical question.

"Nope, she probably wouldn't even believe me. Besides, it's your business, so you've gotta deal with it." Karen climbed over the back of the couch and sat down beside Hotaru. "In all honesty, Serena will take it a lot better than her mother, or that's what I've come to believe."

"Um... Rebecca told us that you had a bad dream... From the way she brought it up, it seemed really serious."

_'Hotaru Tomoe, the daughter of the famous Dr. Tomoe. We thought he was one of our enemies six years ago, mainly because the Witches 5 and Kaori had been brought back. It turned out he knew nothing about it, he still doesn't even recall knowing about the Sailor Scouts. Everything's better this way though... we shouldn't have to worry about him trying to take over the Earth ever again. As for Hotaru, much hasn't changed about her. She still has the same hair style and her clothing is just a little different. And, believe it or not, she could always tell when I was lying. It's one of the main reasons I tell Rebecca the truth... That and it wasn't right... and Rebecca would find out sooner or later and I'd be in tons of trouble.'_

"You all seem to be taking this all so seriously. If it was some 'end of the world' dream, I would have woken you all up in the middle of the night."

"Not all bad dreams have to do with the world being destroyed..."

Karen made a slight frown and then let out a sigh. "It's just... if I tell her, she'll start worrying and get all paranoid. And everyone have enough stress in their life with Susan trying to get us all killed on the daily basis."

"Don't you think you're underestimating Rebecca?"

"All I know is this dream was terrible, worse than that... And I know everyone will make a big deal out of it...."

"Even if we promised not to..?

"Even if you gave me a million dollars each..."

"This dream is starting to sound a little overrated." Rebecca commented.

Karen quickly looked up to notice Rebecca's sudden arrival into the room. "Then why do you still want to hear about it?" She knew Rebecca still wanted to know.

"If it's enough to make you use that serious tone, it obviously won't just go away." Of course it wouldn't... things weren't that simple. Karen wished they were though, it would make her life a lot easier.

"Fine... I'll tell you, I guess. But you have to promise not to freak out or something like that..." Karen's order was replied with by two nods. "Okay. Last night, I had a dream... and it started out pretty boring, so I'll spare you the details. I was kind of scared when it started, I didn't know what was going on... but then Rebecca was there. So, I didn't really have a reason not to feel safe. Or so I had thought. We were all alone in our room... but when I looked in the mirror.... I saw Michelle. She said I couldn't escape her..."

Rebecca and Hotaru grew silent, unable to think of anything to say that wouldn't make it sound like they were freaked out. Karen stared at Rebecca, as if saying 'I told you so'.

"I guess the dream elves don't have time for me and my dreams..." Two swings, two hits... Karen had effortlessly tied Peruru into the conversation. When no response came, she headed out the room with a scoff.

_'Okay, maybe my exit was a bit dramatic, but I wasn't about to stay there. I needed to get away from everyone... from Susan, Hotaru.. and even Rebecca. I needed to think everything through. By myself. What kind of self-confident person would I be if I went to others for help with my internal battles? I would be like Serena... maybe worse. If that's possible.... Where was I going? At the time, I wasn't very sure. As long as it was some place I could find solitude and quietness. The location I arrived at brought a small wave of shock upon me...'_

It had been a while since she had come here. Mostly because she didn't enjoy visiting this place. That and she rarely had reason to... Karen observed the structure ahead of her with a listless expression. The hospital never changed, it was always there and it was always fairly busy. Not so much in the winter, however, and that's why Karen didn't come very often. A gust of wind blew pass the teen, causing her to shove her hands in her jacket pockets.

_'I used to be scared of hospitals as a child... They were just so freaky. So, one day, a few years ago, Amara brought me here for no reason in particular and I wondered around some. I met patients, doctors, nurses, and had long conversations with people who practically lived in the hospital. By the time I had left, it was like I never had been scared. After that day, I visited the hospital a couple times a week... Recently, I had stopped going so often. It all had to do with this girl I met..._

_ Her name was Lexi and she was... fourteen when I was first introduced to her over two years ago. She had a few things in common with me and she was so friendly and optimistic. You see, when she was younger, she would be sick almost all of the time. Then she lost her parents when she was ten or eleven. The hospital took her in then and took care of her. Lexi had been recovering pretty well and was to be released several months before now. Unfortunately, she had gone missing... She was just one day away from being free again. And a really great family was waiting to raise her.... I just couldn't come back here since that occurred...'_

The tomboy entered the building and swiftly strolled down a random hallway. Nothing had really changed, except for the random, new faces. She found herself retreating to the room where she had encountered Lexi for the first time. Maybe, she thought, Lexi would have come back for a checkup or maybe they had some information on where she had been taken. Or if she had ever been reappeared... She froze outside of the door leading in. What was she doing here? Karen hesitated to reach for the doorknob, afraid of the worst outcomes. A hand rested on her shoulder and she quickly turned around. She now faced Lexi's doctor, a man that was rarely seen without a smile.

"It's been a while Karen... We all started to worry when your visits ceased."

"Did you... ever find anything out about her?" Karen ignored his concern.

His smile flickered off momentarily, he knew exactly who she spoke of. "Nothing... at least nothing that I know of."

"Well, thanks anyway..." Karen gave a departing gesture and headed off.

"You aren't going to stay for a little bit?"

She halted. "I'd rather not... this place kind of disturbs me." With that, she began walking again. She could no longer stand being here. It was like some shadow was lurking over her, a cold and guilt clutch digging it's way into her mind and body.

"Mom...!" Karen called out as she stepped into the house. "Anyone home...?!" She finally noticed a note on the back of the door as she closed it. Taking it in her hands, she read it aloud to herself using her best impersonation of Trista. "'Katherine, I have kidnapped Amara for a few days.... While you're here, you might as well feed the fish... and don't even think about searching for my hidden candy stash...' Man, and I'm so close to finding it.. Guess I can hang out here for the night.."

Darkness was covering the area as silence resounded all around. Karen was curled up in a ball in what she guessed was a corner. Something wasn't right... she wasn't alone here. She figured if she didn't move, whatever was out there would leave her be. Especially if it was some kind of evil and ugly monster. Karen's eyes were closed shut and her hands were covering her ears. She suddenly felt a hand or something on her neck, It was as cold as ice and had begun to tightly grip her neck. Karen let out a small, pain filled moan, hoping some kind of help would come.

A shadow moved carefully, yet swiftly through the room. Another figure lay on the couch, her body rolled up in a spherical shape as she whimpered with fear. The shadow approached the couch and observed the sleeping girl. The cries for aid remained incoherent noises, but became louder over the few seconds. She was experiencing another nightmare... they seemed to be coming more often now. What started out so meager turned worse and worse with every dream she had. A hand touched her shoulder in hopes of ceasing her constant quivering.

"Lady Katherine..." A voice called out to her. There was no reply, just more moans.

The shadow disappeared from her side for some moments. When it returned, it had a blanket and pillow in hand. The slumbering teen was soon covered by the rather large blanket and the pillow was placed under her head.

_'For some odd reason, my nightmare began to change... It turned all good and happy. At one point, I remember almost waking up, but this really warm and comfortable feeling caused me to drift again. I hadn't had sleep that good in months... maybe even years. It even got me to forget that Rebecca was probably wide awake and worrying about me...'_


	2. Chapter Two

Rebecca paced around the living room, her mind not able to think of anything but Karen. It had been hours since the tomboy left and not one of the others had seen her all day. Nor were any too keen on finding her at the moment. Rini and Hotaru had dragged Susan to some new movie and the others claimed to have 'more important' plans going on. They were all probably sitting at home, watching television, and not giving one thought to where Karen could be.

Her attention was grabbed by a clattering noise in the kitchen. She froze in place for some moments, eyes darted at the kitchen door. The sound had gone away and had yet to return. Maybe Apollo was just running around and crashed into something. Rebecca exhaled deeply and stepped over to the door. Her hand rested calmly on the knob as she mentally counted down. Swinging the door open, she flicked the lights on quickly and observed the room.

On the floor next to the refrigerator was a stray can. She walked over to it and bent down to pick it up. A hand rested on her shoulder and her hand was paralyzed. When the hand moved, she remained in her position. Not sure whether she should look behind herself or not.

"You cut your pretty hair..." At that moment, Rebecca knew exactly who it was.

She was soon on her feet and turned around. In front of her stood none other than Michelle, who was simply smiling at her daughter. It wasn't one of those warm, innocent smiles though... it was an evil and confident one. Rebecca, even though she was shocked at first, glared at Michelle. This gained nothing short of a laugh from Michelle, who took a step closer to Rebecca. The teen took a step back just in case her mother was planning something.

"You don't seem too happy to see me."

"What makes you think you can just walk in here and act like nothing happened?!" Rebecca was close to screaming by the end of her question.

"Oh, no... I won't act like nothing's happened. I don't deny the fact I tried to kill Karen or the fact that I even harmed everyone else who got in my way. I'm just willing to let that all go."

"... What you did was too low for words... All of that just because one relationship wouldn't last."

"I'm willing to apologize..."

"You're lying!"

Michelle let out a playful, annoyed sigh. "You're making this very difficult Rebecca."

"Maybe it wouldn't be so difficult if you hadn't tried to kill Karen." Rebecca shot back hatefully. "Now, why don't you just go before Karen comes back...? She doesn't need anymore stress in her life right now."

"You mean she isn't here?"

"... Not that it's any of your business... she hasn't been here all day."

"Then that means she can be anywhere... with anyone.."

Rebecca hand formed a fist. "You don't know what you're talking about..."

"Really? Well.. I guess you don't want to know the news.." Michelle spoke as she headed for the door.

It was probably just a trick or some lie to turn Rebecca against Karen. She was very curious about this though. "What news?"

Michelle stopped, yet didn't turn around as a grin appeared on her face.

-.-

"You know you shouldn't be here...."

Karen twitched slightly at first hear of the voice. It sounded like Trista, but wasn't she out of town with Amara? Karen rolled onto her side and let her eyes open. There was nothing to be seen but the complete darkness... maybe she was just imagining things. Besides, she was way too tired to investigate right now. She returned to resting on her back and let herself drift into her dreamworld again.

"You'll just be risking her life as well as yours." The voice spoke again.

"But I didn't do it and you know it!" A second argued, this time it was a masculine voice.

"Even if that's the truth, it doesn't make it safe for you to be here..."

"I had to see her again and at least explain why I never visited for the past six years."

"Fine, do as you wish... But some advice; don't overstay your welcome."

-.-

Karen tossed and turned in her sleep as if she was being attacked by some rabid animal. Moving around a little too much, she fell off of the couch and onto the floor. The collision awoke her and she jumped into a sitting position. Panicked breaths soon calmed and became barely audible noises escaping her nose. She shook away the bad dream and tried to remember the events of the previous night. There were voices, yet she couldn't recall what they had said. It couldn't have been in her mind... she swore to herself that she was awake when she heard them.

_'For months I've believed I was lacking complete sanity... and it's possible that I'm right. It was all probably some random and pointless dream. Like my mind was just playing a really cruel joke on me... What if I wasn't imagining things? Could Trista really have been here talking to someone in the middle of the night? And who exactly could that other person have been? I don't really know many guys and that voice didn't sound familiar. Unless...'_

She shook her and struggled to her feet, stretching some before heading into the bathroom. She soon found herself staring in the mirror over the sink, overly interested in her reflection. Facial features and fatigue pointed out the shorter hours of sleep. And the restless sleep that came along with them. Her mind conjured up what Rebecca might have said if she saw Karen like this. As soon as the words formed, her mind drew a large blank and lost them. She didn't need extra rest, she need some miracle pill or doctor. Maybe a vacation or coma... neither would be better than the other... at least not to Karen.

Karen smirked slightly at the fact that she wore an eye patch. It had never really dawned on her that it was almost so ridiculous that it was hilarious. She doubted needing it anymore, now it was just another article of clothing. At one point, it had been some symbol of Karen's unforgettable struggle. Now, it was just an eye patch... so what kept her from taking it off? It had no benefits and it made her feel uncomfortable and strange at times. She scoffed softly and pulled the accessory over her head and tossed it aside.

There was nothing left of the incident, except for the scar on Karen's face and the emotional mark that would never fade away. Karen observed herself, not sure whether she was satisfied with taking off the cover. She found herself irritated at her stupid indecisiveness and glared at the reflection. What was the point of emotions when hers were always mixed and puzzling? Karen just continued to stare, as if hoping that the answer to her dilemma would magically appear.

"I think you look better without it." Came a statement from behind.

Karen quickly turned around and came face-to-face with a young man some inches taller than her. Her first thought was to attack then run and call the police, but she didn't really think he was there to harm her. Then, she finally noticed some specific details about this guy. Snow white hair and turquoise eyes. There was only one Karen knew that fit that description. She almost jumped at him to smother him with affection, but managed to restrain herself in case her assumption was wrong.

"Peruru..?" She whispered the name as if it were forbidden amongst them.

He only nodded, not sure what to say to her after so many years.

That's when Karen remembered the six long years she endured. And how he had never been there once. "I hope you aren't expecting for me to just forget about..."

"I don't expect you to forget... I just want to be forgiven."

"Why should I forgive you?! I really thought you liked me until you never visited or sent some type of message for six years...!"

"I do like you, that's why I'm here."

The tomboy just folded her arms over her chest and took another look him. He was a lot taller than when she last saw him. And his regular clothing was replaced by some faded blue jeans and a black hoodie. Karen finally noticed the small area of purple hair hadn't gone away. It must have been a fairy thing. She tilted her head momentarily, then approached Peruru. She reached out with a hand slowly and grabbed one of his ears, surprised they were normal.

"Something wrong?" He questioned, a little confused at her action.

Karen blushed slightly and let her arm fall to her side. "You... look different."

"Well, it has been six years." He smiled, hoping that counted as her forgiving him.

Her expression just became serious again. "Let me guess, no explanation?" There was no answer to her inquiry. She scoffed and headed back into the living room. "Oh, no need to say anything. I understand that the children's dreams are much more important than me..."

He shook his head and followed her. "Even if I told you, I doubt you would believe me. I don't buy it myself..."

"Why don't you just leave? If you can't even give me a reason, then I don't want to hear anything you have to say." She continued on towards the kitchen, not sparing him any look.

"I'm not allowed to be here...! But I just couldn't let you go on thinking I betrayed you or something... I'm probably risking everything just being here.... I can't tell you why though, I'm not entirely sure of what I did.... If I had done it..."

Karen halted in the doorway and turned to face Peruru, who stopped some feet behind her. "Is that the best you can come up with?"

Peruru let out an irritated sigh, she always had to make things so difficult. He took careful steps over to Karen, his eyes never leaving hers. They were soon mere inches apart from each other. All of his other plans had failed miserably. Now he was left with one more, the most riskful one he knew of. He closed the space between them, his lips connecting with Karen's. Karen found herself allowing him to complete what he had started.

Peruru broke away, taking some steps back in case she was angry. "I-I'm sorry..."

Karen stared at him in shock, she should have been mad at him for that. Instead she felt like jumping up and down with endless happiness.

_'This wasn't the first time he's done this, there were several times it happened during the incident. So, why did it feel like the first one..? And why did it feel so right and good? I never felt like this when Rebecca kissed me or something. At least not anytime recently. Did that mean I was...? No, it couldn't be. I'm probably just tired... or sick...'_

"... You still love me..." Karen stated suddenly. "After all of this time and how rude I've been, you're still madly in love with me. That's why you came back..."

-.-

The chair landed on the tiled floor with a loud clatter. Amara, who was now on her feet, glared at the woman in front of her, obviously not agreeing with her words. "He didn't do it and you know it. I don't care how much proof they have, he wouldn't hurt anyone."

"How are you so sure?" Trista shot back as she gazed into her cup of tea. "We don't know enough about him to tell if he's capable of doing what he did..."

There was no getting through to this woman today. "Okay, let's look at this from your point of view... Even if he did do that, he wouldn't hurt Kat, he loves her..."

"And she loves Rebecca..." Garnet eyes darted threateningly at the racer.

"Well, wouldn't that mean he's more likely to attack Rebecca?"

"That doesn't make him any less dangerous Amara."

Amara sighed. Why was Trista being so protective of Karen and Rebecca? "He's not going to attack Rebecca... Man, you make it sound as if they're screwing up the timeline or something.."

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"Whatever... listen, I'll watch over them if you're really that worried..." With that said, Amara exited the room.

-.-

She had found him out... Then again, it did seem fairly obvious. "I should go, I've caused enough trouble already..." Peruru declared as his attention was on the carpeted floor.

"Go? After all of the trouble of coming here?"

"What I said earlier wasn't a lie... and I'm beginning to believe my being here wasn't such a good idea."

Karen made a disappointed grimace. "I don't care and you shouldn't either! If you love me than at least try to prove it!"

"But you love Rebecca.." Peruru glanced at her momentarily. "I'm not going to try and come in-between your relationship." Karen rubbed the back on her neck and paced around. "You aren't...?"

"I do love Rebecca... it just doesn't feel right. Like, I could spend the rest of my life with her, but I'd just be missing out on something more."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"I still feel excited to see you.. and happy when you're around. I feel safe around you. And I don't think I would have gone six years constantly thinking about you if it didn't mean anything..."

Before anymore words were exchanged, an obnoxious beeping noise filled the room. Karen put her hand under one of the couch cushions and pulled out her communication watch. She quickly flipped it open to see Susan on the screen.

"What is it?" Karen asked.

"Meeting at the house ASAP." After the message, the screen went blank. No reason or the smallest hint to what could have been going on.

_'Susan's the daughter of Trista, which makes her the next Keeper of Time... If something were to happen to Trista, that is. Quick description... she's taller than me, has the same hair color as Pluto, but her hair reaches her shoulders; she has garnet eyes and the belief that blowing up something makes it all better. Now, would you trust someone like her to protect the timeline? I don't think Trista does... she doesn't really have a choice though. Aside from that crazy personal trait, Susan's a pretty cool person. Except when she's serious... you don't want to know what happens when she is...'_

Karen moved over to a coat rack and retrieved her jacket. "You coming?" She glanced over at Peruru as she put it on. "It'd mean a lot to me..."

Peruru opened his mouth to refuse at first, until he thought of what she said a moment ago. "Okay." He said with a nod.

-.-

A series of struggling grunts and groans sounded in the darkness. Soon enough, Kaorinite was tossed into the center of the room, the only well lit area. She lay there beaten, tears in her white lab coat and random cuts and bruises on her skin. Out from the shadows came a girl looking around Karen's age with very short brown hair and shining green eyes. She wore baggy khakis with countless chains wrapped around them and black biker boots. Her top half was covered with a sleeveless black shirt and gray vest. She bent down near Kaori with a grin as she fingered the silver hoop piercing on the far left of her bottom lip.

"How about you make this easier on yourself and tell me where she is?" The girl spoke in a friendly, yet threatening tone.

"I... don't know..." Kaori managed to say through the waves of pain.

"Have it your way." She climbed to her feet and got ready for an attack, only to be stopped by the sound of footsteps. "Who's there?!" She demanded, quickly turning in the direction of the noise.

"As amusing as that was, I doubt she knows of what you seek."

"Show yourself!"

The darkness soon revealed Michelle, who was wearing some blue jeans and a black T-shirt. "I must admit, that was quite impressive."

The girl smirked and backed away from Kaori. "Well, it seems my search is over."

Michelle pointed at herself with a puzzled look, then returned to her calm facial cast. "And what business do you believe you have with me?"

"I'm in need of your assistance."

"And if I refuse..?"

"That's not a very good idea..." The girl warned as she got into a fighting position.

"Stand down Ryan." The command came from a masculine voice.

Ryan let out a disappointed groan and stood up straight, forcing her hands into her pant pockets. She was joined by a middle aged man, who came up behind her and set a hand on her shoulder. His hair was navy blue and eyes were silver. His body was covered by a long sleeve white shirt and black vest as he carelessly wore some faded jeans with a hole in the left knee. Michelle automatically brought her gaze to lock onto his. Ryan looked between and hastily figured out that they must have known each other.

"What do you want?" Michelle inquired bluntly.

He showed a playful hurt expression before glaring back at her. "To see my daughter."

"You're wasting your time..." Michelle turned to leave.

"Wait!" Ryan called out, getting a look over the shoulder.

-.-

Karen waited impatiently for Peruru, who was walking awfully slow. Maybe he was worried that 'they' would find him if he revealed himself to everyone else. Karen mentally sighed, hoping the Inners weren't there. They couldn't ever keep their mouths shut, just like their mothers. Well, Rini did a good job at keeping secrets, but only her. Somehow, Karen hoped that Trista wouldn't show up. She was the Keeper of Time and if Peruru wasn't allowed here, she'd be the first to react unpleasantly. And sooner or later, everyone else would jump on the bandwagon and someone would end up getting hurt.

Karen gave up on waiting for Peruru, who was still a few feet behind, and continued to the house. She let out a silent shiver and pulled her jacket close as she hurried down the sidewalk. Normally, there was nothing wrong with the winter, Karen was just having a bad day today. It could have been worse though, it could have been snowing. When she reached the door, she opened it and stood in the doorway until Peruru caught up. Both walked through the house and into the living room, where they found Rebecca, Susan, Hotaru, and Rini seated.

"We're here." Karen announced.

Rebecca was the first to look up and observe the new arrivals. She immediately took note to Peruru and a scowl momentarily took over her facial features. The other three soon faced Karen and Peruru, slightly shocked at the appearance of the fairy. No words were exchanged for minutes that seemed like hours. Karen's mind screamed for someone to say something... at least a word or maybe a noise. The tomboy shook her head and cleared her throat.

"So.. what's up?"

"She's not dead Karen..." Susan answered..

".... You can't be serious..."

"I saw her... she talked to me.." Rebecca spoke up.

"This can't be happening.... Are you sure you saw her and not just.. I don't know.. imagined it?"

Rebecca gave Karen an upset look and suddenly walked out of the room. Karen shook her head and followed her friend out. She didn't have time for anyone getting jealous or angry. Karen found Rebecca in the kitchen, arms folded over her chest as she stood some feet away.

"Rebecca, I'm sorry..."

"When were you planning on telling me he was here?" She hadn't even listened to Karen's apology.

"I just found out he was here today... like, not even an hour ago."

"Am I supposed to just believe that?"

"Yes because it's true. Why would I hide anything from you..?"

"Well, what am I supposed to think Karen? You go and disappear all day and night without telling anyone where you are. And then you come back with him and expect me not to get all offensive?" Her arms dropped to her sides and she stomped over to Karen. "What if I had done that? How would you feel?"

Karen smiled and tried to lighten the mood. "Well, I highly doubt you would be seen with Peruru."

"I'm serious Karen."

She sighed and tried to grab Rebecca's hands with her own, only to have the other girl pull away. "Okay, I get it. You're pissed. I'm really sorry and I really hope you can forgive me... And hopefully soon, 'cause I don't think I could take on Michelle alone."

"So, there's nothing going on between you two?" She received a shake of the head. "Good." Rebecca pulled Karen into a hug and then a kiss.

Out of the her eye, Karen spotted Michelle on the side of the kitchen. She quickly moved away from Rebecca and alertly scanned the room. She hadn't noticed the forlorn expression on her partner's face. Her heart raced as the nightmare flashed in her mind. No longer feeling safe there, she turned and left the room.

-.-

"There's another reason." Ryan stated.

"And what might that be?" Michelle questioned, her back still facing the two.

The man showed an evil smile and he walked over to Michelle. "We've come to help you of course."


End file.
